Apparatus for distilling oil



Jan. 8, 1929.' .n

H. S. PETTINGILL, JR

APPARATUSFOR DISTILLING 91g ma m imm ww VK .p I FLT:

Filed Dec. 14. 1922 H. s. PETTINGILL, JR

APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING OL Jan 8, v1929.

Filed Dec. 14 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 AP lmllllynull l; m m f."

Patented Jan. 8, 1929e entren stares l Partnr? HENRY s; Pn'rrrnsrnn, ma, or BseR'rnnsv-Inrin; onnairoivrs., assiettes; BYflvrEsnnAsL Henares son nrsfmnnrete ont..

This invention relatesto apparatus for'dis- .tilling oiluand', more particularly7 to apparatus for scraping and. removingdeposits of tarry and carbon containing substances from `the interiors of stills. l n Y.

Inf the. operation of oil stills, particularly of. stillsr in which. heavy hydrocarbonsare heated and distilled. under pressure,` substances suchi as colte, tar. andi similar ycarbonaceous .material are.formed and deposited. on the inner surface: ofthe still. AsLthe substances Which form. the deposits arepoor conductorsof heat, the layen thus formed. resists the passage offheat fromfthe still. Walls to the body of.' oil. in. the still. and' interferesy with the heating and?v distillation of.' they oil. Moreover, if" a layer of such substancesy is permitted to remain ony those portions ofthe stilly subjectedto.theintense heat ofthe furnace, particularly When: the still is operated continumisly ony over lon-g periods of' time, the still. Walls may become overheated and weakened` sufficiently te. cause bursting or rupturing: ofthestilhand Vthrough the escape of oil. create.dangerofdisastrous fires.. The removal of the deposits during distillation, however, involves, considerable difficulty, as sticky, adhesive substancesare formed in the deposit WhichV cling. to stirrers and scrapers of the ordinary type and, as the material hardens, encases the scrapingappa-ratus in; a hard, solid mass and renders its further action ineffective. v

An object of the present inventionvr is to provide a means for maintaining the surfaces of stills and similar apparatus substantially'free of such. deposits or Vto continuously remove them as they form.

Another object ofJ the-inventionvis to provide a scraping device-Which is substantially self cleaning during operation.

A further object ofthe invention isto provide a scraping mechanism. positively an'- chore'd to the still in suoliV a manner thatV it may freely expand and contract relatively yscrape exposed)surfacesl of the blades with eachscraping cycle.

wat, these-andi other Objects in simule inventioncomprises the apparatus described and set l'erth. inthe following speciiication and @isms .i

The various features ofthe invention. are illustrated in the accompanying drawings',

. inwhich Fig. l is a sectional 'plan viewofiastilll and scraping mechanism. illustrating a. preferred v form Vof the invention,

Fig. 2 is aV sectional/.elevation of the. still and scraping.mechanismillistrated in. Fig, 1.

Fig. fis. av sectional view of the still and scraping. mechanism takenbn. line 3 3. of Fig. 1 ',L

Fig, 4 isa sectionaly View of thestill and scraping mechanism taken; von vline 4-4 of Fig. 1 l. l l Fig. 5'is a detail'section'alY vievv' of.' scrapers and holders therefor forming a. pant of the scraping mechanism. illustrated inF the abovefigure@l Fig. a plan View offthescraper'blades andholdi'ng meansv shown in. Fig. 5,.va'nd.

s Fig. 4isai'detail view offa rake forming a part` of the sediment removingfmechanism ofthe present invention.

In the present invention', the sediment of colte, tar, carbon. and'. similar substances forming; on the still bottomhare scraped' loose aty frequentv intervals and pushed. toward" an f 'outlet bymeans of scraper bladespassing over the stilll bottom. fllhe blades are mounted to permit' a slight vertical movement and? the Weight of't'he blades is supportedfby the still bottom, suitable cutting. edge being formed on the lower edge ofthe bladesto permitthem lilref ory hollow holders having` slots, through which the blad'esproject.. The Weights for the blades may beenclosed? in these holders and'. thereby protected from contact with. the contentsofthe still.V 'f

rile time materialisme@ pass-Over. sie

stillbott'om in an upright position and,`,upon reaching the endof their travel areinverted and carried through theupper'portion ofthe still' to their starting position by means of are supported on a suitable framework anchored at one place in the still in such aman- .ner as vtopermit a relativeexpansion and contraction between the length of vtheframe and the still walls as the temperatures' of these parts charge. y s

lvIn the accompanying drawings, an einbodiment of the invention is illustrated as applied `to a horizontal, cylindrical still 10 having an oil inlet 12 at one end and, at the opposite end having outlets 14'and l5 through which unvaporized oil, tars, carbon and other substances of similar character formed in theV still may be removed. A vapor `outlet pipe 16 isr also provided in tlietop of the still.

'y In stills of this type, the end portions of the still rest on the walls of the furnace and thereby p-rotect the'still walls adjacent the inlet and outlet pipes from direct contactwith jthe heat of the furnace to which the lower or lbottom portion between the ends is subjected.

Thecarbon, tars, and other sediment collecting or forming on the heated bottom portion of the still is loosened and pushed towardthe outlet 14 at lfrequent intervals by weighted scraper blades 18 and 20 which are supported inan upright position and moved forwardly over thejstill bottom by means of ltravelling holders 22. The blades 18 and 20 are arranged to slide individually in avertical direction on the holders, within limits,

f and the weight of the blades is supported on l a cutting edge 24 supported on the still bottom. For this purpose the holder 22 is made hollow or of a boXv like cross section and the top wall 26 and bottom wall 28 of the holder are provided with aligned slots 30 and 32 through which the blades 18 and 2O project. (See Figs. 5 and 6). The dimensions of the slots are suihciently large to permit the blades Lto 'slide freely up and-down in'jclose contact Ywith the edges of the slots.`

`The bladesV are independently slidable in the slots 30 and 32 and arecaused to sink through any sediment on the still bottom and contact with the surface. of the bottom by means of weights 34 mounted on the portions of the bladeswithin the hollow portion of the holder 22 and thereby protected from contact with the contents of the still. Each blade is provided with an individual weight Ysuii'icient to force the blade through the sludge distance above the bottom. For this purpose an arcuate holder is used in cylindrical I stills and extends .over those portions of the bottom and side walls on which adhering deposits tend to form. The blades 18 and20 are arranged instaggered relation in two rows in such manner that each portion of the still bottom is uniformly and eliiciently scraped.`

The holders 22 are moved over the surface of the still by means of parallel endless chains 36 and 38 trained over a pair of driving cog wheelsV 40 and 42 at the outlet end of the still 'anda pair of idler cog wheels44y and-46 mounted on a shaft 47 at the opposite or` inlet vend of thefstill. The holders are secured to the chains by means of struts 48 vwhich are connected between brackets 52 on the holders lit) and a linkin each of thechains. The driving wheels are supported on, and driven Vbya shaft 56 which is supported at one end in a bearing 58, mounted on the wall of the still b means of a bracket 59 and asses through y e a bearing 60 and stufng box 61 on the opposite wall ofthe still to a suitable source of power outside of the still. The shaft56 and vwheels 40 and 42 are ldriven in such a direction as to draw the lower lengths of the chains 36 and 38 and the holders and blades 18 and 2O over the still bottom towardthe outlet 14.r

As the portion of the chains to which the holders are attached pass over the wheels 40 and42, the holders are carried around the lwheels to an inverted position on the top of the wheels and pass in this inverted position to the idler cog wheels 44 and 46. As the holders are inverted the scraping blades 18 and 2O fall downwardly,'drawing the portion of the blades projecting through the slots 32jin the wall 28 into the interior of the holders 22 until Vthe weights 34 reach the wall 26 and prevent entire projecting portionof the blades will be drawn into the holders asv the weights reach v'the wall 26. ils the blades pass over the edges of the slots 32 these edges scrape any adhering substance from the faces of the blades and thus prevent the accumulation and hardening of an yencasing rlayer of material. Also 'the blades 18 are guided or positioned during their inovementsby the edges of the slots in the wall 26.

position at the under side of the wheels and in proximity to the inlet end, the holders are returned to their upright position. The

its the holders and blades pass p Vover the wheels 44 and 46 to their starting' lfilades there upon slide A downw ardly through the slots82 under the actionof the weights 134 until the lowercutting edges 24 reach'the still bottom. y 1

'.lheholders 22 are further guided intheir mo-vement and` are held -i-n suitable posi-tion relative to the still bottom by means of a pair ofclosed or Yendless tracks in spaced relation at' the opposite ends of 'the holders. 'The holders are mounted on the tracks-62 and 64 by means of carriages 66 and 68, one at each end -of theholders, andeach carriage is provided with an upper pair -of wheels 70 and a lower pair of wheels 72 which rideonopposite sides of horizontal webs 74 of the t-racks 62 and 64. The ytracks are substantially parallel to the chains 36 and 38 and have upper and lower horizontal reaches 7 6 and '78, on which the weightof the holders and blades is supported as they pass fbetweenthe cog wheels, and semi-circular end connecting portions and 82 which serve to guidethe holders passi-ng around the cog wheels from one horizontal lengthto the other.

rIhe tracks 62 and further serve as a part of a framework for holding theshafts 56 and 47fin' their proper positions; The `remaining portion 4of the -f-raine is formed by vertical posts 84 andfdiagona'ls 86 between the horizontal portions 76 and 8 and cross beams 88 extending lbetween the posts 84 and serving' to hold the tracks in their properly spaced positions relative to each other.A

As the still walls are-heated more rapidly than the frame work von which the scraping mechanism is supported and are usually at a somewhat higher'temperatureduring distillation, the frame is so mounted in the still as to permita relative expansionl and contraction between it and the still Walls. For this purpose the frame is anchored or fastenedvto the still walls at one point or position in the length of the stil-l and extends longitudinally in a sliding' relation to the still walls kthroughout the remaining length of the fra-me. The frame is preferablyanchored Ito the still Walls at the driving shaft 56 by means of a'pair ofl vertical plates 90, one of which is supported by the bearing 58-and` bracket 59and the other of which is supported by the stu-fling box 61 and bearing 60. The free length of the frame is supported by means of Wheels or rollers -92 mountedA on the lower sides of the tracks 62 and 64 by means of brackets 94 and riding on the adjacent Walls of the still. Asthe frame is anchored at only one transverse axis a free relative expansion and contraction between the remaining length of the frame andthe still walls is permitted. y

The idler shaft 47 and the cog wheels 44 and 46 a're mounted on the frame `by means' of vertical plates 96 extending between the upper and lower .lengths of the track at the end opposite the yshaft 56 and carrying bearings 98 in which the lends of the shaft 47 are the surface of the still over which the Scrapers l pass. The hoes are drawn forwardly-'over fthe still by means of an arcuate shaped frame v 102 attached to the chains 36 and' 38 by means of brackets 104fand struts 106'similar to those of the holders 22. The hoes arepivotally attached to the frame 102 by` means of arms 108 pivotally attached lt-o the frame' 102` at their forward ends, and the weight of the hoes-is borne on the still bottom in such amanner that the hoes may rise individually when anY obstruction is encountered. The frames 102are alsofguided in their movement by means of carriages 110, Figs. 2 and 3, having pairs of Wheels 112 and 114 riding on the tracks 62 and 64. The hoes are so mountedv on the frame 102'that when inverted the arms of the hoes'rest on' a horizontal flange. 116 which limits theircdownward swing.

Through the above yinvention the exposed or scraping portions of .the scraping 'blades 18 and'20 are drawn through the slots 32, at

, each scraping cycle and any viscous material adhering to the faces of theblades'is removed. The weighted or :moving portions of the blades are'protected to some extent by the holder 22 from direct contact with the contents of the still anda-side 118 of the holder .may be readily taken olf to remove any deposits which mightv interfere with ythe free operation of the blades. Thisarrangement of the blades also enables a holder to be used which is of smooth outersu-rface which may be easily cleaned. The frame construction also provides Va mounting for the scraping apparatus which avoids all tendency toplace the still walls or thek frame under strains due to unequal expansion and contractionasthe still is heated or allowed to cool. 1

Having lthus described the invention, what is claimed as rnew is: v n

1. Apparatusfof the type described which comprises, a still, scraperfblade holding means adapted to be moved over the bottom surface of said still, said holding means being hollowy and havingslots in its opposite walls, scraper blades extending Athrough and slidable in said slots and weights attached to said .blades withinsaidholder and slidablein said holder with said blades. y

2. Apparatus of the type described which comprises, 4scraping blades..adaptedf'tobe carried over a surface in substantially vertical position, a hollow holding means for said blades having aligned slots in its opposite walls through which said blades project, weights in said hollowrholder attached to and slidable ,with'said blades and means for moving said holder and blades over a surface to be scraped and for returning them in inverted position.

Y 3. Apparatus ofthe type described which comprises, a hollow holder having walls adapted to assume superposed positions and aligned slots in said walls, a blade extending through said holder andprojecting through said slots,.and a weight in said holder acting on said blade to move said blade in said slots.

et. Apparatus of the kindV described which comprises, a scraping blade, a hollow holder having positioning and scraping edges at the sides of said blade and a Weight-attached to saidv blade and slidable between said edges, v 5. 'Apparatus of the type described which comprises, a scraping blade, a holder having positioning and scraping edges at the sides of said blade, and a Weight attached to said blade to move the blade past said edges when the position of said blade is inverted, said holder including means for protecting said weight from contact with the material through which said apparatus moves.

6. Apparatus of the type described which comprises, scraper blades having weighted portions, means for holding and carrying said blades in staggered position over a surface to be scraped and having guiding-and scraping edges adjacent the faces of said blades, said means enclosing the weighted portions of said blades and permitting the end portions ofsaid blades to project and slide past said edges under the action of the Weights of the blades.

7. Apparatus of the type described which comprises, a blade holder of substantially rectangularl cross section, having slots in its opposite walls, scraper blades extending across said holder and projecting through said slots, and weights mounted on said blades within saidV holder.

8. Apparatus of the type described -which comprises, a cylindrical still, a scraper blade holder curved to conform to the cross sectional curvature of the bottom of said still, said holder being hollow and having slots in its walls, scraper blades extending through said holder and projecting through said slots, weights mounted on said blades within said holder, and kmeans for moving said blades and holder overand in proximityv to the bottom of said still and for inverting said blades and holder and returning them out of contactwith the bottom of said still.

9. Apparatus of the type described which comprises, a still having an outlet, a frame corresponding to the curvature of the bottom of said still, means for moving said frame l0. Apparatus of the type described whichv comprises a still, a scraper frame mounted within the still, a series of scraper holders shaped to conform to the cross sectional shape of the bottom portion of the still movably mounted in the frame, a series of scraper blades mounted in the holders, aseries of cleaner holders shaped to conform to theY cross sectional shape of thebottom portion of the still movably mounted in the frame,- and hoes ,pivoted to the cleaner holders in aposition to have their cleaning edges in contact with the bottom portion of the still when the cleaner holder is in the lower portion of the still. t i

1l. Apparatus of thetype described which comprises a still, a scraper frame mounted within the still, a series of scraper blade.y holders shaped'to conform to the cross secv tional shape of the lower portion of the still and movably mounted in the` said frame, a series of scraping blades lmovably mounted in ysaid frame, a series of weights mounted on said blades arranged to 4force the cutting edges of the blades into contact with the bottom portion of the still when the blade holder is moving adjacent to the bottom of the still, a series of cleaner holders movably mounted in said frame and arranged alternately between scraper bladey holders, said cleaner holders having a series of hoes'pivotally mounted thereto. with their cleaning edges extending substantially transversely across thel lower portion of the still, and

looV

means for positively moving the holders in Y an annular path longitudinally of the still to move the scraping blades and hoes lengthwise of the bottom of the still,

12. A still comprising a shell `provided adjacent one end with an outlet through which sediment can be removed from the still, a scraping device arranged inside of the still and adapted to be moved longitudinally of the same vfor removing sediment from the bottom of the still and discharging j it through saidYOutlet, a carrier forl said scraping device arranged transversely of the still, endless chainsfor actuating said vcarrier, an idler shaft provided with sprockets around which said chains travel, a-supporting frame for said idler shaft arranged inside of the still and having one end fixed to the still, the other end of said frame being disconnected from the still, and a roller bearing intermediate the free end of said frame'and the shell of the still for supporting the weight of the frame while permitting relative motion between frame and the shell. n

13.y A still comprising a shell provided adjacent one end with an outlet through Which sediment can be removed from the still, a scraping device arranged inside of the still and adapted to be moved longitudinally of the same for removing sediment from the bottom ofthe still and discharging it through said outlet, a carrier for said scraping device arranged transversely of the still, endless chains for actuating saidy carrier, an idler shaft provided with sprockets around which said chains travel, a supporting framel for said idler shaft arranged inside of the still and having one end fixed to the still, the other end of said frame being disconnected from the still, and continuous tracks on said frame on which the scraping Vdevice carrier travels, and a roller hearing intermediate the free end of the frame andthe shell of the still.

In testimony whereof I alix my signature HENRY S. PETTINGILL, JR. 

